Method and apparatus for making bottle closures



March 2 1926. 1,575,300

W. M. WEEKS ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BOTTLE CLOSURES Filed Jan. 7, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 2 1926. 1,575,300

W. M. WEEKS ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BOTTLE CLOSURES Filed Jan. 7, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 2 1926.

. W- M. WEEKS 51 AL METHOD AN?) APPARATUS FOR MAKING BQTTLE CLOSURES- 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. '7. 1926 W. M. WEEKS ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BOTTLE CLOSUMRES March 2 1926. 1,575,300

Filed Jan. '7, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l i 1 7 7 5 I 7 7 r 8| I I 5a a w 80 i /fl 5d 66 3 A a 2/ e /4' a a A? I g /8 I' 2 -1 i gZj Patented ,Ma 2,

" [UNITED sinus NT F CE-1.

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Application fled i'anuary To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WALLACE M.-Wnnns and Jonn A. Pnasn'citizens of the United St-ates, residing at Skaneateles, in the v county-of Onondaga and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus for Making Bottle Closures, of which the following is aspecification. 1

This invention relates to the manufacture of bottle closures or caps, from paper stock, and designed particularly for closing and sealing the mouths of ordinary milk bottles.

The invention especially relates to the. method of making the said caps, and particularly'to. the mechanical means for producing the same. 4

Present invention has in view the employment of certain methods, steps, means, mechanisms and apparatus for the practical and rapid manufacture of the bottle closures, which are hereinafter clearly shown, described, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference may be had for a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of our invention, we have illustrated the varioussteps which may be employed in the construction of a bottle closure embodying our invention, and also the means by which said steps are effected, but it should be understood that the by the 'corrugating members.

. shape or pattern of the blanks from which the closure is constructed, and also that the steps described herein may be varied, within the scope defined by the claims. 7

Figure 1 is a vertical section, takerr'on line 1--1 of Fig. 5; showing the blanks, which comprise the two-part closure, and the parts of the mechanism in their respective positions .to start the molding of one of the closures. Fig. 2 is a similar section; showing the blanks brought together at the pressing position, and the larger blank gripped Fig. 3 is a similar section; showing the primary moldingoperation. Fig. i is a similar section; showing by full and dotted lines the final folding and pressing of the body blank, and

the finished cap ready to be ejected, as in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top planview of the molding apparatus, shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4. I

'ble, as 4'.

7, 1926. Serial I0. 79,814.

' plan view of completed cap. Fig. 9'is a top plan view of the reinforcing disc. Fig.

10 is a bottom end view of the inner sleeve, which cooperates with stationary parts of the die, for partially forming the convexfiange of the cap. Fig. 11 is a bottom end 'view of the upper tension-controlled member employed for corrugatin the margin 'of the body blank,and which a so" cooperates with 35 the inner sleeve for formin the convex flange. Fig. 12 is a top en view of the lower corrugating member. Fig. 13 is a top plan view of the stationary annular die.

member. Fig. 14 is an elevationalwiew of w the eccentric-driven yoke, by which the inner and outer sleeves and related parts are con; trolled. Fig. 15 is a broken end elevation, taken in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 7 6; showing thecam and related partsthat w depress the ram 6, and Fig. 16 is a central vertical section of a milk bottle, showing the closure a plied thereto.

In the pre erred construction of the bottle closure, two disc-shaped blanks of any suitw able paper stock, and of different diameters, as 2 and 3, are employed. The blank 2 is preferably relatively thin and tough and readily moldable, while the disc 3 is preterably of relatively thick gauge, and isprac- 855 tically inflexible, in order that said disc may suitably reinforce the lighter blank, and cooperate with the latter for effectually sealing the bottle mouth. The blanks 2 and 3. may be disposed in separate magazines, as W 2 and 3, and any suitable and well-known means (shown conventionally at 2*-'3) may be employed for simultaneously feeding the said blanks .from their magazines towards the molding apparatus or die, wherein the blanks are operated upon for producing the composite cap or closure, as A, having a central two-ply disc-shaped portion (Z,Wl1l0ll is arranged to seat in the usual recess of a bottle mouth (see Fig. 16),

and which is surrounded by an annular convex apron a, that intimately overlies and shields the flaring lip of the mouthbeyond the recess. as shown in Figs. 4, Sand 16.

A detailed description of the apparatus follows:

4 represents-a substantially circular base, which may be supported by a suitable ta- Upon the base 4' is mounted a hollow upright cylindrical body or casing 5, comprising a foot-flange 5', a contracted medial portion 5 having blank receiving functions,

an expanded top and cap ejecting slots 5-'5, and having ortion 5, the. free end of the latter preferably beingopen. The die or mold proper comprises a number of movable and stationary telescopically arranged parts, which are disposed concentrically-in the casin 5, and which are timed by suitable mec anisms, to perform their several by which the various steps of our methods are effected. 6 and 6' represent aligning plun which are dispose and operated axially in the body and base, and between the facing ends of which the blanks 2 and3 are disposed and held during the construction of the closure. The rams 6-6 are independently reciprocable. The ram 6 is supported and guided partially by a piston-like member 7, and a sleeve 8, the-said guides being disposed respectively in the body por tions 5 and 5, and being movable relatively to and independently of the ram 6. The member 7 is raised. and lowered by a yoke 7', whose arms are pivoted by means of pins 7, which are disposed radially in suitable openings, as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 14.

' The yoke 7 extends well above the casing 5 and straddl the ram 6, and its free end is formed with a. horizontal opening '7", in which is journalled a circular crank-member 7, the latter being rigid upon, and rotatable by a shaft 9, which is supported by bearings 9' carried by uprights 10-10. that rise from thetable 4' (see Fig. 6). One end of shaft 9 is fitted with a relatively large spur gear 10, which is driven by a pinion 12, the

latter being loosely supported by a stationa aryrod 12, which projects beyond the u right 10', and upon which is also loose y journalled a pulley 12 which'may be driven continuously by a belt 12. ion 12 and the sheave 12 is disposed a clutch member 12, operable by a lever 12 by which the sheave and the pimon may be operative 1y connected, or released. Shaft 9'passes eccentricall'y through the member'r'", as best seen in Fig. 14, and effects the variable movements of the member 7 during each molding operation. 1

The plunger 6 is normally held in its elevated or released position (gsee Fig. 1), by means of a spring 6, and is epressed during the molding operations by a cam 13, which is rigid on the shaft 9 and is in constant engagement with a lever 14, the latter being preferably mounted rigidly on a shaft 14;, which is also supported by the uprights 10-10 (see Fig. 6). 15 represents a simi-. lar lever which is supported and rocked by the shaft 14, the free end of said lever'being normally in frictional engagement with the top end of the plunger 6. During'the molding operations the cam 13 is rotated constantly and each revolution eifects the variable vertical movements of the plunger 6 member 7, throug lar guard 7, WhlCll. is'rigi'dly secured to the r-like members or rams,

dis ose the discs Between the pin-- required to produce. one of the bottle clo sures.

16 represents a similar sleeve that surrounds and is slidable on, the sleeve 8, its movements being partially controlled by the the medium of an annubottom face of the member 7, by screws 7 The sleeve 16 is depressed directly by the tensio of s rin '17, see Fi s. 1 and 5 which are (lispo sid in downvardly facin g sockets 7" of member 7,and said sleeve is also subjected to indirect depression bya spring 17, which surrounds the stem of the ram 6 and engages the counterbored top end of the sleeve 8, the latter sleeve being rovided with'an annular flan e 8, which p ays' in a corresponding counter re of the sleeve 16. By this construction or arrangement of the parts 8 and 16 either may move independently within certain limits, may efl'ect the vertical movement of the other part, as may be understoodby consulting- Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The blanks 2 and 3 when fed from the magazine's 2'3, by horizontally movable members 2"3, pass respectively through the slotted opening 5, and an openin the casingportion 5". The action of t blank feedmg bein manner (not shown%, so as to simultaneously 2 and 3 in the cap forming cavlty of the apparatus, when the plungers 6-6 and the other molding parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 1, in which the opening 5 registers with slots 16' and 8 of the sleeves 16 and 8, and the slot 5 registers with the normal gap or space between the upper and lower die members, as indicated at w, 1n Fig. 1. The lower portion of the sleeve '8 is counterbored-at 8", the smaller disc 3, as well as the diameter of the enlarged lower end 6 of the ram 6. The disc 3 upon entering the counterbore 8", is received in an annular -recess 8, which tends to prevent the disc 3 from gravitating towards disc 2,-until the plunger 6 descends and forces said disc into'the molding position shown in Fig. 2. When disc 2 enters c said the void 0:, it initially rests upon the top end where it remains until the ram 6 depresses the disc 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2. When the discs 2 and 3 are dis osed axially in the die cavity, as explaine the member 7 is immediately depressed by the eccentric 7, as from the position shown in Fig. 1, to that shown in Fig. 2. This lowering of the member 7, supplemented by the tension of the springs 17, de presses the sleeve 16 until its corrugated lower and 16 engages and compresses the peripheral margin of the disc 2 against the corrugated top end 18, of a similar tension of the plunger 6",

controlled member 18, which is resiliently and either timed in awell-knownto substantially the diameter of Fig.2, by bolts 18" and sprin' 18, the latter' being supported by the use 4. v The gripping and corrugatingof the outer marn of the disc 2, is timed to take place an I instant before the plunger 6 exerts any p'res-' sure upon the disc 2, and at substantially lowed immediately by the lowering of the plunger 6 by the depressing effect of the portion 13 of the cam 13 (see Fig. 15);.

I whichforces the discs 23 into the void 00 fitted with a bevel gear 20 which meshes and' for cupping the disc 2, as shown in At the end of this cupping action the plungcreated by the recession of the plunger 6, Fig. 3.

er 6 again starts upwardly and contacts with they underside of the disc 2. Both of the plungers then move upwardly substantially at the same speed, the pressure on the plunger 6 being slightly relaxed. for the purpose, by the rotation of the cam 13 from the point 13" to the point 13, which effects the slight reduction of the cup of the closure A, as shown in Fig. 4. At this stage, the plunger 6 breaks contact with the closure due to the-sudden relaxation cfthe pressure occasioned by he movement of the cam 13, from the full line to the dotted line position, shown in Fig. 15. This effects a quick u'pward movement of plunger 6to the extent shown by the full lines in Fig; 4. Flunger 6 is then suddenly lowered by the point 13 of cam 13 depressing. the lever 14,-.and strikes a quick blow against the inner margin of apron a of the closure, for completing the compressing and molding of said margin upon the outer margin of the disc 3, as shown in the sectional view in Fig. 1. As the said blow is struck by plunger 6 the latter,- due to the contact of the portion 13 of the cam 13 with the lever 14, is finally raised by the tension of spring 6 to the osition shown in Fig. 1,ready to start t e molding of the next closure, and so on. Immediately the plunger 6 strikes the final blow, as explained, the member 7 is lifted by the crank 7 towards the idle position shown in Fig. 1. This relaxes the tension of springs 17 -17, and allows the guard 7 to raise the sleeves 16 and 8 to their full release position (see Fig. 1).

The plunger 6, is controlled mainly by cam 19 which is preferably disposed beneath the table 4' and is mounted upon and driven by a shaft 19 which is supported by depending bearings 4. One end ;of shaft 19' is is driven by a similar gear 20' the latter being mounted on,the lower end' of a vertical shaft 20. Shaft 20%. is driven by power transmitted by the shaft 9 and bevel gears 2121 which are mounted respectively upon the said shafts (see Fig. 6).

At the start of the cupping operation,

.is resiliently :held by (see 3), the-sleeve 8 is moved downwardly, and its concave lower end 89, forces the corresponding portion of the disc 2. against the beaded top end 22', of a stationary tubular member 22, and begins the convex molding of the flange a of the closure. During these-operations thesleeve 8 the s ring 17". The as we 1 as that of the tension of spring-17 springs 14, is soregulated that when the cupping of the disc 2 is effected, as shown in Fig. 3, the annular portion of disc 2 beyond the perimeter of disc 3 is forcibly drawn or moved radially between the sleeves 8 and 16 and the lower die members 18 and- 22, thereby contracting the disc 2, to the ex-'.

tent shown by comparing. Fig. 7 with Fig. 8. The sleeve 8 maintains its resilient grip of the flange a, while the plunger 6 is forcing the cupped portion upwardly, and this upward movement of plunger 6', owing to the resilient grip of the parts 8, 16,18 and 22. effects the inward folding of the inner margin of the flange a, upon the disc 3, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the said fold being com ressed and clinched by the final sharp uic blow of the'plunger 6, as explained, or the purpose of effectually interlocking the said discs, and completing the formation of the closure, as shown in F1gs.1, 4, and '8. The finished closures are usually ejected as shown at the left in Fig. 1 by an air blast in a well-known manner (not shown).

The apron a of the closure remains partially in the grip of the corrugating member until the inward folding of the apron upon .the disc 3 is effected. Thislatteroperation so contracts the disc 2 radially, as to entirely free the apron from the corrugated faces of the members 16-18, as shown in Fig. 4, in

the sleeve 8 andthe stationary die member whichthe apron is shown still gripped by 22, as well as by a curved portion 16 of the v the larger disc to the extent of the diameter of the smaller disc while said clamping is .maintained, then molding said extended margin convex, partially folding the said extended margin'upon the smaller disc, and

finally compressing and clinching the said no fold.

55 ers being spaced apart to leceive said discs,

2. The method of making bottle closures,

.which consists of corrugating the peripheral margin of a relatively large disc of thin tough paper, then superposing concentrically upon said disc a relatively thick inflexible reinforcing disc, then depressing said discs and forming a concentric cup having a depth greater than the combined thickness ofthe two discs, reducing the depth of the cup and effecting the inward folding of the portion of the larger disc that extends beyond the smaller disc upon the latter disc, and finally compressing and clinching the said infold and interlocking the two discs."

3. The method of making a flexible bottle closure, which consists of corrugating the peripheral margin of a relatively large pliable paper disc, then superposin concentrically thereupon asmaller and t icker inflexible disc, then cupping the portion of the larger disc overlayed by the smaller disc, and molding the contracted annular outer portion of the larger disc convex, then folding the inner margin of said'annular portion upon the smaller disc for interlocking said discs, and finally applying pressure upon the convex portion of the large disc for efi'acing the said corrugations.

4. An apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination a casing, a pair of aligning ciprocable axially in said casing, means for feeding disc-shaped blanks of paper stock of diiferent diameters into said cavity between the facing ends of-said plungers, means for moving one of the plungers toward the opposing plunger for bringing said discs together concentrically, means for resiliently gripping and corrugating the peripheral margin of the larger disc, means for depressing said plungers for cupping the larger disc while the said margin remains inthe grip of the corrugating means, means for reversing the movement of said plungers for cfl'ecting the inward folding of a portion of said corrugated margin upon the peripheral margin of the smaller disc, for interlocking said discs.

5.-An apparatus for making bottle closures, comprising a hollow body having spaced openings for the entrance of paper discs of different diameters, means for feeding said discs separately towards said openings, independently reciprocable plungers disposed axially in said casing, said plungmeans for depressing the uppermost plunger for imposing the smaller disc upon the larger disc, means for gripping and corrugating the outer margin of the larger disc,

means for again depressing the uppermost .wards said receiving openings,

plunger-like (lie members replunger for cupping the central portion of the larger disc to the extent of the diameter of the smaller disc while the corrugating members yieldingly grip the said annular portion, means for convexing the said corrugated portion for forming a flexible apron surrounding said cupped portion, means for moving the lowermost plunger upwardly for reducing the on of said large disc and for effecting the to ding of the inner margin of said apron upon the peripheral margin of the smaller disc, and means for reciprocating the uppermost plunger for compressing and clinching said inwaid fold for in terlocking said discs.

6. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a hollow casing provided with receiving and ejecting openings, means for feeding circular blanks of paper stock tosimilar aligning plunger-like die-members disposed axially in said casing and independently reciprocable, means for moving one plunger towards the other plunger for imposing the smaller blank concentrically upon the larger blank, a sleeve surrounding the uppermost plunger, a stationary tubular die-member below and registering with said sleeve, tension means for moving said sleeve towards the stationary member and for convexing the margin of the larger blankthat extendsbeyond the smaller blank, a second sleeve telescoping the first sleeve, the lower end of the second sleeve being provided with corrugating teeth, a third sleeve telescoping said stationary member having corresponding corrugating teeth formed in its upper end adapted to cooperate with said second sleeve for crimping or corrugating the outer margin of the large-r blank, tension means for holding said third sleeve in the corrugating position, means for simultaneously moving said plungersdownwardly for cupping the central portion of the larger blank,

'means for increasing the tension of said first sleeve-for .etfacing said corrugations and for effecting the final molding and smoothing of said convex portion of the larger blank, means for efiecting the folding of the inner margin of the convex portion for interlocking said blanks, and

means for relaxing the tension of said movable sleeves'and for raising the uppermost plunger and the uppermost sleeves away from the molding position, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

-WALLACE M. WEEKS.

JOHN A. PEASE, 

